The Green Archers lost their final BLIA Cup preliminary round match against Azusa Pacific University 59-76 yesterday. As a result, the team shall no longer qualify for the semifinal stage.
Coming off a hearbreaking 86-87 loss to host team Chien Hsin the previous day, this was a must-win for La Salle but unfortunately, they were unable to get their game going right from the start.
Their only taste of the lead came at 2-0 then Azusa quickly pulled away to take an 8 point lead after the opening quarter. While struggling to make their shots, their taller opponents from the United States went on a tear to close the first half as the deficit ballooned to 15.
Despite a couple of scoring runs by La Salle in the second half, they could not cut down Azusa’s lead to single digits.
Taane Samuel led the team with 12 points followed by Aljun Melecio with 10.
The Green Archers’ last game in the tournament will be tomorrow at 9am. A win will give them a 5th place finish.